Mistletoe and Wine
by SpookshowBabyx
Summary: Surprising Emma with a visit on Christmas Eve, bickering over wine leads to Regina agreeing to help the Sheriff decorate her tree. When heated looks and loaded comments finally get discussed, things take a forbidden twist they've both expected has been coming for a while now.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _Part 1 of 3 to be completed before Christmas. This one was fun :D This is set in the same arc/ setting as my 'Witch's Brew' Halloween fic- just prior to the current season following the trip down to Hell. Rated M for upcoming chapters. Please review!_

* * *

Checking her phone while taking a swift nip of brandy, Emma smirks as she licks the sweet residue from her lips. She supposes she really should pour some into the wine warming on the stove rather than sipping it neat from the bottle. She _also_ supposes she should stop winding up Henry, but then both of these endeavours are really quite entertaining.

 _Mom! Don't be so embarrassing!_

Chuckling at Henry's mortified response to her teasing about his looking especially smart to meet up with Violet earlier today, she taps back a reply to remind him that it had been his _other_ mother worrying about Snow putting sprigs of mistletoe festively up in the school's halls, and receives an emoticon with its eyes drawn shut in irritation and smoke escaping its nose. Replying with a sarcastic angelic smile, she places her phone back on the counter and finally gives up straight shooting brandy and pours what remains into the pan of wine, cinnamon sticks and spices. Padding over to the fridge, she inspects its offerings while she waits for the wine to heat up with little hope, and is proven right in her depressing inkling that she'd already eaten the chocolate hidden in the top drawer this morning. Opting for a jar of peanut butter and a spoon instead, she raises a brow and glances up at the clock above the sink as the front door opens and closes.

"Ummmm..."

She grumbles loudly, having lost count of the amount of times she's told Hook to quit just barging into the house without knocking first. His response is most often that this would no longer be an issue if they just moved in together _properly_ , and this in turn has led to her using some truly spectacular phrases in which to refer to him in her panicked rage. Still, he should know by now how she feels about her privacy, and her irritation shouldn't be all that surprising.

"It's raining and you always take _forever_ to answer the door."

Comes a disgruntled response from the hallway, and the blonde swiftly puts back the jar of peanut butter as a sharp tap of stilettos sounds towards the door.

"Hey, Regina. Just make yourself at home, why don't you?"

She sighs, and the Mayor raises a brow that suggests the younger woman should watch her tone, before smiling wickedly.

"So kind."

"Mmm."

Emma agrees, turning back to the pan on the stove as the brunette helps herself to one of the bar stools that surround the Sheriff's kitchen island.

"Do you want to know what I just saw?"

Regina asks, eyeing the blonde up from behind as the latter pays her no attention. Emma offers another grunt that may or may not mean she's interested, and the darker woman sighs loudly as she makes a mental note that the Sheriff wears the black jeans with the green stitching that show off each and every tiny flaw caused by her underwear. It has become somewhat of a perverse habit to check when the blonde turns her back if she's wearing bikini briefs or shorts underneath, although she'd never go so far as to _admit_ to this little game, even to herself. Today she can spy no lines to speak of, and she raises a brow before taking Emma's lacklustre response as an invitation to carry on.

"Your mother."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Your mother dressed in-"

"-Oh! Yeah, the jingle suit."

The blonde giggles, finally turning around to face her uninvited guest with a smirk.

"The what now?"

The Mayor frowns, and the Sheriff lowers the flames on the stove to a gentle flicker and elaborates as she fetches them each a mug.

"That weird green thing with the bells on it."

"Yes."

Regina agrees, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, I saw her earlier, carol singing with the nuns. She kept trying to convince me I should show some community spirit and accept my 'royal duty' or whatever and join in."

"Fat chance."

The brunette sneers, and Emma nods with a grin as she searches out a ladle.

"That's a less x-rated version of what I told her, yeah. She gave up pretty quick and started on Hook."

"I doubt that was any more prosperous?"

"Sure it was. She got David to ask him."

The blonde shrugs, and dark eyes roll as the Mayor goads

"The pirate does whatever your father tells him to. I _know_ this, and yet I'm _still_ disappointed."

"Oh, so am I-"

Emma agrees, serving up hot, mulled wine.

"-But Hook and David have this weird 'thing', you know?"

"Yes. I'd noticed. The protective father and the obsequious boyfriend."

Regina yawns.

"Right."

"You've never struck me as the sort to want Daddy watching over you."

The darker woman scoffs, and the younger woman throws her a look of confirmation as she laments

"Hell no, but it seems not to really matter what _I_ actually think about it. Honestly, all I want to know is where David was when I was fifteen and dating a guy with Captain Crunch tattooed on his asscheek. Where was he when I needed him?"

Emma sarks, and Regina smirks- glancing over the darker facts of the younger woman's enquiry as she has learnt it is wise to do- and responds primly

"Absent, along with your common sense, it sounds like?"

"Bite me."

The Sheriff snaps, but not without a note of good humour, and she hands the brunette her wine as she takes a seat opposite her.

"Smells good."

Regina remarks, and Emma rolls her eyes as she sighs

"You sound _genuinely_ surprised."

"Well, I _was_ when I came in to witness you cooking... Now that I know there was alcohol involved, I'm less confused."

"Oh, Regina, you are so full of crap."

The blonde grumbles, and scarlet lips pull into a gleeful smirk as dark eyes glitter amiably.

"It's actually very nice."

The Mayor offers finally, and Emma smiles, drinking deeply and savouring the warmth of the wine and brandy spiced and sweetened.

"I know. Lily made me some the other day, and I've been adding my own twist to it."

She explains, leaving out that her 'twist' is simply to add three times the amount of brandy as Lily had jotted down for her.

"You still go and see her?"

Regina wrinkles her nose, and the blonde shrugs as she sips and asks

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You were dangerously close to shooting her in the street... Didn't quite offer the hallmarks of a _healthy_ friendship."

"... With that in mind, I should be highly suspicious that _you're_ sat here with me."

Emma points out, before elaborating

"We had our issues. She's also a friend. All you other lot all know each other and have a past. I'm still getting there, and sometimes it's nice to talk to someone that doesn't think you're talking about the Ogre Wars when you mention tougher times, or remind you that your problems might have been fixed by a fairy. We have stuff in common, is all."

"I suppose I can understand that. She still seems like trouble to me, but she has fair taste in drinks, I will allow her that."

"She says they make this stuff in Europe a lot around Christmas."

"Lily has been to Europe?"

Regina asks, genuinely surprised as- in her eyes- the prickly young woman seems about as cultured as an old shoe.

"No, but she lived for a while with a guy that came over from London. He'd tried to find himself in New York, and instead he found the needle."

"The needle?"

"Drugs."

"Hmm."

The brunette sniffs in the manner she often does when the Sheriff regales her with tales of the outside world.

"Either way, this is good."

Emma shrugs, and the Mayor nods in agreement, before pointing to the remains that steam in the pan.

"Evidently. You've made enough to liquor up an army."

"It wasn't just for me. I thought you were Hook."

The blonde reasons, and dark brows furrow in distaste as Regina scoffs

"Hardly. And that's rather offensive."

"Well, I guess you'll do, too."

The Sheriff grins impishly, and Regina rolls her eyes as she informs the younger woman

"Hook's out with Henry."

"He is?"

Emma asks, surprised.

"I told Henry he needed a chaperone if he was planning to take Violet out to the well. Something about candles and a picnic and god knows what else."

"Really?!"

"Really."

Regina nods, not mentioning something _else_ the pirate had said when picking up the boy and his date. It had been along the lines that Henry must have gotten his apparent romantic streak from her, as it _certainly_ wasn't from Emma. There had been a note of irritation in his tone that she has come to recognise while dancing around the topic. She _also_ doesn't mention that this irritation seems to be simultaneously directed at _her_.

 _What good would it do to do so?_

But twice now, Hook has muttered something about how the blonde often seems far keener to please her than she does himself. This is something that _she'd_ picked up on way before it had been expressed to her in a surly, quarrelsome tone. It's something she's simply come to _expect_ from the Sheriff. It is a quirk of Emma's that has often served her quite nicely, and she sees no need to bring it up or argue about it. If she _were_ so inclined- or if she wished to be cruel- she might find it tempting to ask Killian just what he might _make_ of the fact. She might get him to spell out the reason for the tension sometimes suffered between the two of them. She has no wish to do so, however. It would only Result in creating a mess between herself and Emma, and she doesn't enjoy fighting with the blonde as much as she used to.

Certainly _not about topics that mask curious connotations._

"We argued, but eventually Henry said he wished to take Hook, and I relented and agreed. I believe he thought having either of _us_ along might be more uncomfortable."

Is all she says, and the younger woman grins as she imagines this might well be true, what with her whooping after the boy earlier until his ears had burned a telling scarlet.

"Well, it was nice of him to tell _me_."

She sighs, though she supposes there's a chance that the four missed calls she'd accidentally swiped from her phone and never bothered chasing up might have been meant to do just that.

 _Oh, well._

"So it seems you _do_ have a vat of wine to yourself."

Regina smirks, and Emma reciprocates with a shrug to let the darker woman know that she really wouldn't find this to be a burden were it the case, before suggesting cooly

"Hardly. You pretty much invited yourself in; it would be rude to leave now."

"Would it?"

The brunette sighs.

"Very."

Emma grins, and the Mayor offers a thin smile in response; allowing the blonde to top up her cup before following her into the living room at the younger woman's request.

"And it means you can help me do the tree so that Henry will stop pestering me with remarks that I'm no fun."

"Well..."

Regina smirks suggestively, although she very much doubts Henry thinks this about the blonde at all. She can be moody and aloof when dealing with most of the town, but to their son she lets loose a secret wild side, and it is one that the Mayor knows well as it has caused her a great deal of washing, scolding and chasing up over the last year or two. Tailing Emma into the room, she frowns as she surveys the bare tree shoved unceremoniously in the corner, and points out

"Well, it _is_ Christmas Eve!"

"I _know_ , I've been busy."

The younger woman snaps, leaving out the fact that she had been meaning to do the tree the night before last, but had been preoccupied arguing with Hook. She leaves this small detail out, as it had been the brunette they'd been arguing about.

 _As always._

Blushing, she simply turns away and scuffs at a litter of pine needles that have scattered around the tree. She doesn't need Regina to know that- yet again- her decision to cancel dinner plans in order to hang out with the brunette in her mansion hadn't gone down too well. It is something they had once done maybe once a week or so, but since Robin's passing it has become a much more regular habit. At first, she'd argued it had been for support, and it _had_ been. Now, she just enjoys the darker woman's company, and will leave it at that.

 _Yes, leave it at that before thinking too deeply on some of the_ other _accusations Hook has made..._

And, it's funny, because she believes Hook is more often than not just throwing any barb that might stick. She doesn't think he really _means_ it when he suggests that her inclination to spend as much time with Regina as she does might be indicitive of more than just a friendly interest.

 _There's nothing_ funny _about the madness you sometimes indulge at three am, Swan..._

Swallowing, she stalks over to the cabinet by the window and brings over a medium sized box and places it on the coffee table.

"These are the decorations my mom didn't want. And, by 'didn't want' I mean, they're the ones she couldn't fit on her tree. She _tried_ , though! You better believe she _tried_!"

"I know, I've seen it. Next time I'll visit to discuss town matters wearing sunglasses."

Regina muses disdainfully, and the younger woman grins, before sighing as she roots around in the box.

"There's no lights. They must still be in the basement. Come help me look?"

"Sure, a trip into the darkness with my sworn enemy; what better way is there to spend a Friday night?"

"Well, it's not the _first_ time."

Emma chuckles, and Regina rolls her eyes, muttering irritably that she certainly hopes that the hospitality is going to be better than when they'd visited Hell.

"Course it will be! I'm an excellent hostess."

The Sheriff smirks, making a grand gesture with her wine as she fiddles with the lock to the basement, and the Mayor purses her lips as she follows the younger woman down into the shadows with an unconvinced

"Hmmm..."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : _Always suckers for a challenge, these two! Enjoy, and please review :)_

 _Oh, and I did a little teaser doodle for the final chapter. It's on my tumblr- spookshowbabyx_

* * *

"God, it's a mess down here."

Regina grumbles, wrinkling her nose. She peers around the cave-like basement beneath the blonde's house dubiously, a single bulb casting a dim light on scattered objects and a broken chair. Following the direction of the brunette's disdain, Emma nudges at splintered spindles with the toe of her boot, before admitting sheepishly.

"I've not really been down here since the whole dagger business."

"I see... In a rage were you?"

The Mayor smirks, noting a few gashes in the stone walls, and the shattered remains of a vase.

"It wasn't my _favourite_ time, no."

Emma replies primly, and dark eyes glitter as the brunette muses lightly

"You surprise me. I would have thought an excuse to embrace your often surly nature would have been a _welcome_ proposition."

"I'm not surly..."

The blonde frowns, and the Mayor laughs quietly as she points out

"You're not helping your case."

"Oh, get fucked, Madame Mayor."

Emma huffs, placing down her wine and pulling at a stack of boxes.

"Miss Swan!"

Regina scolds, but there is a huskiness to her tone as she secretly finds it quite invigorating that the younger woman often allows her this unbecoming side of her psyche. It's an odd thing for her to relish, she knows this, as ordinarily bad manners and poor behaviour irk her terribly, but there is a queer camaraderie in the way the Sheriff will growl obscenities at her- _never in earshot of her parents, of course_ \- and she privately rather enjoys the way the blonde has forever remained rough around the edges, princess or not.

"What?"

Emma snaps, attempting to rip open one of the boxes with her hands, before pulling a penknife from her pocket to stab at unrelenting duct tape efficiently. She catches the way Regina smirks at her as she goes about doing this, and sighs dramatically.

"Nothing, dear... _Personally_ , I find it a bit of a shame."

"Huh?"

"I believe there was a whole wealth of untapped potential with you embracing your darker side, but you remained true to yourself and hatefully _boring_ before having any fun."

"That's rich coming from you. You spent a whole fucking _hour_ lecturing me on not 'giving into my darkness' if I remember correctly."

"Well, I was just doing my part. I might have hoped to see just a _little_ evil flair though, dear, but alas, you never got further than experimenting with your wardrobe."

"Oh god..."

Emma groans, rolling her eyes as she points to a box yet to be opened and hands Regina the knife so that she can help her hunt.

"There's no use _you_ shuddering, _you're_ the one that inflicted it on everyone."

The brunette points out as she slips the blade through the tape.

"Yeah, I'm not _entirely_ sure what went on there."

The blonde laughs, and the Mayor shrugs slim shoulders as she replies distractedly

"It wasn't _all_ bad, there were a few outfits I approved of."

And Emma glances over at her curiously with a small frown as Regina seems preoccupied with rooting through the contents of the box, before she shakes her long curls out of her face and reprimands herself silently for taking innocent words as anything suggestive.

"Yeah. You _would_."

She scoffs, and when the brunette looks back at her, she elaborates with a grin

"Don't forget, I fell into the book, Your _Majesty_. I know all about your fashion choices."

"... At least _I_ appear to have learnt from them."

Regina sneers waspishly, eyeing the blonde up and down pointedly with a smirk.

"Oh, you still have your moments."

Emma grins, delving through old paperwork and several wrapped ornaments from her apartment in Boston, before pulling over a heavy wooden trunk from the corner.

"Hmm."

The darker woman sniffs irritably, and the Sheriff glances up at her with her teeth flashing with her mirth as she checks that she's not _actually_ pissed the brunette off. She would find it to be a little childish should Regina seem _genuinely_ annoyed at her for retaliating, but she knows that sometimes there is an unseen barrier between them born from suffering an upbringing worlds apart. It amuses her greatly each time she is forced to remind herself that she speaks to the Queen, but she is also willing to let certain double standards slide whenever she feels she's hit a nerve. Assessing the darker woman's _current_ fashion choice, her eyes linger as Regina leans over the box at her feet; her sweater hanging low to allow a beckoning hint of shadow, and just a slice of satin. Swallowing, Emma drinks in the darkened hue the wine has lent to painted lips, before pulling her gaze briskly away and popping open the trunk.

"Found them!"

She exclaims victoriously, and she pulls a knotted jumble of lights from amongst a couple of winter coats.

"Do they still work?"

Regina asks dubiously, her eyes lowered to the chaos bundled in the blonde's arms, and Emma shrugs as she nudges the trunk closed with her foot and turns for the stairs.

"Let's go see."

"You might want to untangle them first."

"True. You can do that while I warm up some more wine."

Emma instructs, casting a glance behind her so as not to miss the predictable flash of irritation to find delicate features.

Catching the blonde looking at her, Regina glowers as she follows her up the stairs, only allowing her lips to twitch with the beginnings of a smirk when the younger woman turns away; her ass- with underwear lines curiously absent in black denim- just comfortably at eye-level.

* * *

"Here."

Emma smiles as she stalks into the living room with fresh mugs steaming with wine.

"Thank you, dear."

Regina nods, blowing gently to send smoky tendrils curling away from her.

"Hey, not bad."

The blonde comments as she assesses that most of the lights have been untangled, save for the worst clump right in the middle of the string.

"I have my ways."

The Mayor agrees, and the Sheriff rolls her eyes, wondering why it is that the darker woman makes just about _everything_ sound sultry and suggestive.

"I'm _sure_ you do."

She sighs, grinning when her clear lack of reverence earns her an irritable huff. She takes the lights from Regina with the offer to give the knot a go herself, and the brunette hands them over gladly as she sits back and sinks into the sofa, watching pale fingers work as Emma sits with her head bowed as she concentrates.

"Do you remember last Christmas?"

Regina asks, and the younger woman leans over and sips from her wine as she shrugs

"A little. Not so much. Things were all a little crazy."

"I know. This is a welcome relief."

The brunette nods, before starting up a quiet conversation so unlike the angry bickering they had once indulged in. She finds herself thinking on this more and more as Emma chips in here and there calmly; not jumping down her throat or growling at her moodily.

It's nice.

"I-"

The Mayor starts, but she stills when the younger woman's phone rings. Sighing, Emma pushes herself from the sofa and glances around trying to locate her cell, before disappearing into the kitchen once realising it must still be on the counter. Her conversation is muffled and short, and when she comes back, she carries the pan and a towel she folds beneath it on the table.

"Henry's going to stay at my parents'."

Emma informs, and the brunette nods, before realising this must mean his 'date' has come to an end.

"Did he say how it went?"

"That was Hook, but I gather it went well as Violet is staying over there too."

"What?!"

"On the _sofa_ , shit, chill out."

Emma chuckles, and dark eyes narrow as the Queen hisses

"I raised him, I'm _allowed_ to be overprotective."

Realising that this might sound rather cruel once the words have left her lips- but also feeling Emma kind of deserves it for teasing her- she follows up by mocking herself cooly

"I'd always said Henry had to be at _least_ thirty-five before courting anyone."

"I had it down for forty."

Emma counters, and full lips pull into a smile, before the darker woman asks

"Does this mean we're soon to receive company?"

She keeps her voice light, so as not to give away any hint that she's sorry to be cutting things off so soon.

"Oh, no, it's all good."

The Sheriff shrugs, before catching the brunette's curious frown and elaborating with equal purposeful breeziness

"Hook's going to show Leroy something or other on the boat."

"... On Christmas Eve?"

Regina asks with her brow furrowing deeper, and the blonde throws her a look to suggest that she leave it, before sighing

"...I'm not good at this whole dating thing. I've told him that."

 _Right, and_ then _some_.

She _has_ , though. She's told him countless times that it isn't her forte. Usually, he accepts this answer on face value, but she is a little peturbed that Killian's first question after they'd exchanged pleasantries and she'd casually dropped in that she was 'rather tired' had been if she was with the Mayor. When she'd hesitated before answering, she'd heard him mutter something on the other end of the line. _Why_ she'd hesitated, she doesn't really know. It's something she doesn't ever really let herself think too deeply about. Breaking the silence, she'd informed him cooly that she _was_ actually with Regina, yes. Another breath of silence, and she knows she might end up paying for it tomorrow, but she'd eventually ended the call by reiterating that she really _was_ quite tired and that she hoped he and Leroy had a pleasant evening... A pause... And then he'd bid her goodnight, not sounding all that pleased about it.

 _Not_ my _fault._

Is her mind's initial response- that part of her that still refuses to allow any form of attachment or sense of duty. She knows it is, though, just as she knows she'll feel guilty before the night is up. Right now, though, she'd been having fun chatting with the Mayor, and unlike the last couple of nights spent with her parents or with Hook, practically _force_ feeding each other Christmas cheer and merriment, Regina is calm and relaxed and in the same position that she is. They've only discussed arrangements about Henry briefly, so as to avoid any conflict; the matter still a raw one and no fun fighting over. It hadn't been a great matter of contention, rather simply one of mild awkwardness. Henry had said all along that he would spend tonight with her parents, and originally it was suggested that she- and Regina, if she wished- should go over also, ready for the Christmas Day which the Mayor had finally agreed she'd spend in her long ago nemesis's cosy flat. The brunette had made a great deal of fuss over doing so, but it had all been for show, and she imagines even _Henry_ knows that.

Regina's actually looking forward to it in a way.

Privately.

"Do you ever miss how things were?"

Emma asks as she goes back to wrestling with the last few stubborn knots.

"When? Back when I sought your demise? Sometimes, it _was_ rather entertaining watching you flounder so hopelessly, but I believe things worked out for the best."

Regina muses as she sips at her wine with a smirk.

"No, I mean _after_ that. After you helped Mary Margaret and me out of the well. Before your mom and Zelena came and whipped everything back up into chaos and frenzy, for a while things were almost _normal_!"

"Well, I guess they are fairly normal- by Storybrooke's standards- once again."

"Yeah, I guess... But there's always so much going on now. There's so many people and situations that have shown up and become muddled and messy. Sometimes I miss how it was when things were simpler."

"It was easier, yes... But the madness you refer to that gives you a headache, might irk me something rotten too, but it is all part of how I was able to prove myself. You never had that problem, but for me, the chaos has made it possible to live as I do now, and maintain relationships with those that once would never have trusted me as they do."

"I suppose that's true, but quite _amusing_ coming from the lips of someone that once tried everything in her power to thwart my parent's friendship..."

"It's complicated. You couldn't understand."

"Not entirely. I _try_ , though, for all of our sake."

"Always the hero."

Regina scoffs, and green eyes roll and Emma ladles herself more wine as she struggles with the final knot.

"Bite me... And I guess I didn't think about all that stuff. I mean, since the curse broke, I've pretty much _always_ liked you, so..."

She shrugs, and the brunette studies her thoughtfully and she savours the warm spice on her tongue.

"Yes. I suppose for the most part you have."

"Mm."

Emma finishes noncomitally, recalling several instances where she might have liked the darker woman just a little _too_ much, and smirking to herself. She catches dark eyes watching her curiously and turns her sly grin into a smile.

"I think these are done. Let's see if they work."

She suggests lightly, pushing away half-formed thoughts that can only lead to trouble with ease. There's always been the odd unsavoury flicker here and there in regards to the Mayor, but she's never been altogether that concerned. Regina has a _way_ about her, after all. She likes to play the whole femme fatale card and toy with her words, and there have been one or two occasions where the blonde has been certain that sultry teasing had been less simple goading and more a silent test. It is one she has always failed, depending on your point of view. She's never taken the bait- if there was in fact bait to be taken- but she's thought about it afterwards, sometimes in some detail. Those thoughts can be a little confusing sometimes, but they don't do any harm, and she is able to ignore them easily enough. Tonight they seem a little more persistent, but then she blames that entirely on the wine and on Hook for putting innocent- _completely innocent! It's not like I would ever_ do _anything_ \- thoughts into words.

Accusations.

"I won't hold my breath."

Regina taunts, but she turns in her seat in order to watch the younger woman plug in the lights with some interest.

Her eyes flicker as Emma bends over to wrestle the prongs into the socket and she nips at her lip.

"Hey, fuck you."

The blonde grumbles, her hair hiding her face, and the Mayor smiles wickedly and goads

"Oh, please. Don't be so touchy."

"Then quit being like that."

"Oh, I don't think so. I think you like it."

" _Do_ I?"

"Don't you?"

The Mayor smirks, challenging the younger woman with her tone as she sips from her drink.

"Like _you'd_ know. You'd be _surprised_ what I might like."

Emma warns as she flicks the switch and checks the lights with anticipation.

Nothing.

"Fuck."

Low, beneath her breath, and Regina laughs softly before asking curiously

"So?"

"So what?"

The blonde frowns, yanking the lights from the socket irritably.

"Surprise me."

"Huh?"

"What might you like?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** _The end! Hope you all enjoy this and have a wonderful Christmas/ holiday. Reviews would be awesome! Thanks for reading!_

* * *

 _"What might you like?"_

The brunette's smirk remains full and tempting, bloodied by the spiced wine held in her hand. The silence that follows only serves to illuminate the fact that they are playing a dangerous game; no longer simply taking wicked shots at each other, but hinting at something they have both been aware of for a long time now, but have never spoken about.

"... Lights that _work_ , for one."

Emma answers eventually, and the Mayor swallows as she is crucially aware of the fact that the blonde refuses to meet her eye. Dropping her own gaze, she muses upon how much wine remains in the pan and the curious ache low in her gut born from the unspoken tension between them since her arrival. Again, this is something that has become more apparent to each of them over the last couple of weeks, and again it is something they have fervently denied to acknowledge.

It started- this new and more intense breed of what has always lingered- when she'd been sat right were she sits now, late one evening after Henry had been put to bed. Hook had been present, along with the ever infuriating Will Scarlett, and she had accepted Emma's offer of a nightcap at first with a sniff of distaste. It had been fairly obvious that the younger woman had been drinking before her arrival to drop off their son; the Sheriff not exactly inappropriately inebriated, but definitely merry. And so they'd sat with the four of them on the old sofas Emma has been saying she plans to reupholster but probably never will, a curious little group that didn't quite seem to fit. At first, it had been Killian and Will holding the conversation together, as she and Emma had shared a couple of glances followed by a smirk every now and then. Then, Will had said he'd best be going, and Hook had left to join him in the hall as they'd continued their rauceous banter, leaving just herself and Emma in the younger woman's living room. The blonde had pushed herself up to fetch the rum from the chest by the fireplace, and she'd topped them each up generously before falling into the plush cushions beside her. They'd talked and chuckled with the room momentarily to themselves, turned in towards one another with the Sheriff's knees resting gently over the brunette's own. The younger woman's cheeks had been flushed with both rum and laughter, and her usual walls and reservations had been nowhere to be seen.

Regina imagines it had been this unlikely display of inhibition that had led to the conversation twisting away from an admittedly crass remark on her behalf regarding hangings back in the Enchanted Forest, to Emma letting her in on a whole _other_ host of possibilities offered by a length of rope and a little imagination. She'd been very taken aback but extremely intrigued- especially with the way the younger woman's eyes had glittered as she'd lent in to confide in her huskily- and her heart had been beating alarmingly fast as that gap between her lips and the blonde's had become increasingly smaller. She'd been reaching out- though she tells herself it had been an entirely _innocent_ gesture- to brush aside the Sheriff's long hair, _almost_ as though dipping in for a kiss.

 _It might have_ looked _like that, but of_ course _it wasn't. Of course it wasn't_ that _... It's_ Emma _!_

Whatever she'd been meaning to do, they'd been interrupted by the door opening and closing, and they'd each pulled back hastily and assumed a rather more innocent position on the sofa. Hook had asked why the blonde was blushing and what it was they were giggling about, and Emma had informed him fairly throatily that they weren't the giggling sort. When pushed, she'd surprised the Mayor by admitting to the general nature of the conversation, and it had been fairly soon afterwards that the brunette had taken her leave; sensing a tension in the room nowhere near as fun as that endured between herself and the younger woman before being interrupted.

 _She was talking about forbidden things. Sexual things. Dark and delicious things. And of_ course _you were going to kiss her, you've wanted to for a while now._

Maybe. Maybe she _was_ planning to do so. If she were- _if_ she were- then it had been clear such a move would be reciprocated.

 _Damned pirate._

Damn Hook indeed, and it's not the first time she's thought so either. She imagines the blonde had woken up the day after the rum incident feeling a little delicate after an evening of indulgence, but her own rising from sleep had been breathless and, well, _wet_. Her dreams had been a hazy kaleidoscope of scenes and situations, but she'd remembered enough of what had left her panting and with her hand slipped where it shouldn't have been to know who had played her co-star.

Since then, she is sure that things have been different between herself and Emma. Not awkward, and not uncomfortable, but heavy with something secret yet shared.

After all, for one so miserly with her words and letting people in, Emma had been remarkably _candid_ that evening, yet certainly not drunk enough to have forgotten what she'd said, and while she has made no further mention of anything sordid, she hasn't tried to explain anything away either.

"Useless."

The blonde grumbles now, throwing the string of lights onto the sofa and sipping at her wine. When the Mayor negates to answer her or taunt her as she might have expected she looks up, the rim of her mug rested against her lip, and narrows her eyes.

"What?"

She demands, feeling a little shy as dark coals remain trained on her intently.

"That wasn't really an _answer_."

Regina points out eventually, and the blonde raises a brow as she swallows and looks pensively down into her cup.

"No?"

She breathes, and the Mayor shakes her head, drinking in long waves and dusky lashes as she notes that the Sheriff has made absolutely no attempt to snap at her to tell her she's crossing the line, or- more _likely_ with Emma- brushed off any tension with a couple of scarcastic barbs to kill the mood but keep things civil. Instead, she walks over and takes a seat beside the brunette- much as she had on that other curious evening- and tops them up with a little more wine while apologising softly

"It's probably not so warm any more."

"That's alright. There's plenty of choice otherwise."

The darker woman replies, glancing pointedly over at the liquor cabinet, and the younger woman studies her with a mixture of surprise, amusement and something a little less innocent.

"Madame Mayor, are you actually pushing us to drink?"

"I wouldn't say I'm _pushing_ us, no dear, and I highly doubt _you_ require any 'pushing' when it comes to liquor."

A disdainful sniff, but it is accompanied by the Mayor getting up off the sofa and stalking over to the cabinet uninvited to help herself. She spies several bottles of whisky and gin, and a rather suspect jar with no labels containing a curiously cloudy substance. Gin, or occasionally scotch, is her usual poison of choice. She has actually _told_ Emma once or twice that she 'doesn't do rum', but it is what they had been drinking when things had all taken a peculiar turn, and it is what she selects now in the hopes of seeing where it might lead.

The look the Sheriff gives the bottle as it gets placed on the table beside the mostly empty saucepan suggests that she understands at least a little of what's going on here.

"Good choice."

She offers eventually, negating to voice her suspicions, sarcastically or otherwise.

"Yes?"

Regina asks, and the weight she puts on the word speaks of a lot more than just the drink on the table. She's asking in some masked and sly way if she has so far been reading the cards right this evening, and Emma replies with silence but a small smile as she nods.

"Well, then."

The brunette breathes, sipping from her wine- now only luke warm, but still sweet with promise- and Emma follows suit as she murmurs

"Finish up and I'll go get glasses and some ice."

She speaks quietly, leaning in a little as though telling the Mayor a secret, and the darker woman turns her head, her lips an inch from the blonde's, and closes her eyes.

"You can lend a hand before that if you want..."

Emma finishes sultrily and Regina frowns as her move to close the distance between them is foiled when the younger woman pushes herself up and steps away. She looks up at her irritably, wanting to snap at the blonde that she should read a goddamned _signal_ when it's given to her, but there is a sly smile playing at the corner of the Sheriff's mouth that speaks quite clearly of sin, and suddenly the brunette is no longer angry, but entirely enthralled.

 _I'd always had a suspicion you might have a cruel streak in you, Swan. Oh, you're so boringly moral and good- ever the Saviour- but I'd always wondered about the rest of you, the hidden parts... The parts you don't want the others here to see._

"I'd rather watch."

She shrugs as Emma rummages in the box of decorations; her wine in one hand and several coloured glass baubles in the other. The blonde glances back over her shoulder and smirks with a roll of her eyes

"Whatever you're into."

And ordinarily that kind of response would be predictable and irksome, but now it's loaded with subtle curiosity, and Regina smiles before reminding quietly

"I believe we were talking about what _you_ might like... You still haven't given me an answer."

Not tonight maybe, but what she'd said the other evening about tying another to her bed had been altogether rather eye opening!

 _And not something I had ever considered something I'd enjoy... Not until you started talking about the_ game _of it, the_ teasing _, the watching how you could make someone_ shiver _for you... Suddenly, I'd found myself looking at you and thinking that such a thing might be highly enjoyable after_ all _. I know I provide a pleasing canvas, but_ you _might make an interesting artist, dear... And you've always been so glib with your assertations of being able to best me... The setting you'd described might be the_ one _setting in which I might allow you even the_ possibility _to try..._

A heated string of thought, and she swallows; her tongue sweet with wine and her mind soiled with fantasies she knows are dangerous, but no longer cares. Something Henry had said to her yesterday springs to mind as she watches the Sheriff dress the tree with minimal care but a delectable series of reaching up and bending over.

 _"It's Christmas!"_

He'd exclaimed when she'd told him he couldn't have a second helping of chocolate cake. As though the season might provide some excuse usually denied.

An excuse to indulge where one might not normally.

"I'm still waiting, Miss Swan..."

She speaks up from her voyeur's seat on the sofa, and she can tell from the small shake of the younger woman's shoulders that she's laughing, but when she turns around, sharp features appear calm and serene.

"Oh. Sorry. I'll go get them."

Emma offers, pretending she believes Regina refers to glasses for the rum rather than the answer to her question, and the brunette watches her stalk from the room with her eyes narrowed; knowing that the blonde knows _exactly_ what she'd been referring to. Pushing herself up from the sofa to inspect the younger woman's half-assed attempt at decorating the tree closer up, she stills as soft footsteps sound behind her and turns around.

"Here."

Emma smiles, holding two tumblers out in one hand, but when the Mayor goes to take one from her, the blonde catches her wrist, pulling her in slyly and finding her lips. Regina makes a soft noise of surprise against soft petals, before opening her mouth and begging enterance; turning rough surprise into something wet and heated.

"Ung..."

The brunette groans as the Sheriff pushes her against the cabinet- narrowly missing knocking the tree over in the process- before she smirks against parted lips as Emma makes her own choked noise of wanting.

"Well, this is _one_ way of answering..."

She purrs into heavy curls as sharp teeth chafe teasingly against her jaw, and the younger woman pulls back and adopts a devilish grin- somewhat manic with the way her eyes burn- and she points up behind them coquettishly.

"Mistletoe. It's just Christmas tradition. Don't look too deeply into it."

"Mmm."

Regina growls with a roll of her eyes, before clenching them shut with a broken moan as Emma dips back in to tease a pulse point where her throat meets her clavicle that she'd not known to have existed.

"What about now we've moved?"

She demands breathlessly, and the younger woman conspires into the hollow of her jaw

" _Now_ , I'm making a start on answering your question..."

"Oh!"

The brunette replies; huskily as slim hips crash against her own to elicit a sharp yet strangely pleasurable ache as her tailbone hits the cabinet. Retaliating swiftly, she moves her hand down to squeeze at pert denim, becoming a little rougher when Emma's response is to chuckle

"Woah there, what are you, fourteen?"

"I'm working on a theory."

Regina replies, and the Sheriff pulls her hand away for just enough time so that she can rid her of her sweater, before making swift work of the buttons lining her shirt.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"These jeans are so tight it's almost _obscene_ , dear. I mean, _really_. Do you honestly think it's _appropriate_ for the Sheriff to tease the way you do?"

"About as appropriate as it is for the Mayor to be grabbing as hard as you're grabbing!"

"You know, one can tell what style underwear you're wearing just by _looking_ when you wear these?"

The brunette continues, dragging her nails down the green stitching that lines the seam between pert cheeks

"Never noticed, but glad to offer some entertainment!"

Emma sarks as she runs her own hand down the bare expanse of the darker woman's stomach.

"Today, though... Today I can't tell. I can't see any lines or hints..."

"Hmm..."

The blonde smirks, before retaliating with another hard buck of her hips when Regina moves to slip her hand into tight denim to further explore.

"You know, there's a _better_ way to find out..."

She growls, catching the darker woman's wrist and pulling it in front of her.

"Yes?"

Regina asks, her pupils blown as she studies the blonde breathlessly; stunned as she stands with her shirt gaping open and her lipstick smudged, and not able to remember the last time she'd felt this turned on.

"Mmhmm."

Emma agrees, before letting go of the brunette's slender wrist and stalking backwards to the coffee table. She picks up the bottle of rum and cracks the seal, taking a nip straight from the bottle before holding it out.

"Go on, and I'll answer your question. Both of them."

"Ordinarily I wouldn't drink from the bottle..."

The Mayor informs primly, as though feeling the need to make this perfectly clear, and the blonde smirks as she watches the darker woman's throat work as she swallows while informing her coyly

" _Ordinarily_ you wouldn't be stood in my living room half naked."

"It's Christmas."

Regina informs her, mimicking Henry, and Emma laughs as she takes the bottle back and takes one final sip for good luck.

"It is."

She agrees.

"Take off your jeans."

The brunette demands boldly, and the younger woman touches the tip of her tongue to her top lip before shaking her head.

"You asked me _two_ questions. Well, one direct, the other implied. First things first, Madame Mayor."

And with that, she moves back in to crash her lips against ghosted scarlet, this time backing the brunette towards the door. On her way, she swipes the broken lights from the sofa, trailing the strand behind her as she works on the Mayor.

"Watch the handle."

Regina scolds as she is pushed none too gently against the heavy wood, and Emma smiles slyly against swollen lips as she states softly

"I intend to pay the handle a great deal of consideration."

Frowning- the Sheriff's tone conveying a sordid threat but her mind struggling to think too far past the intoxicating haze of her lust- the Mayor asks

"What, I don't-"

Before stilling as Emma reaches behind her and grabs a hold of her wrists, bringing them to meet at the small of her back, before blindly looping the strand of lights in a swift figure of eight to keep them tightly together.

"Emma..."

Regina breathes into the hard crest of the younger woman's collarbone, her eyes fluttering closed as she feels the Sheriff wind the cord around her wrists a couple more times before looping it around the handle of the door; keeping her effectively bound at her mercy.

"It's a shame this house doesn't have any beams apart from in the basement, and I don't think it's really all that appropriate we do this down there given the state of it."

The blonde muses cooly, and the Mayor swallows as she is unable to tell if Emma is messing with her or if she's genuinely disappointed that this isn't going to be any kinkier than it already is. She considers telling the blonde that it doesn't really matter, as right now she's so close to the edge she doesn't imagine she could take much more, but she stays true to character and simply glowers at the Sheriff when she steps back to admire her handiwork.

"Try to get free."

The younger woman instructs, and the Mayor offers her a disdainful look as she tugs lazily on her ties. Doing so awakens her to just how little movement she is able to master before finding herself restrained, and her eyes darken as she purrs dangerously

"It's tight. I can't."

"Good."

The blonde nods.

"...I was right. So much untapped potential."

Regina muses huskily, and the Sheriff smiles amiably, as though reacting to a wholesome joke, before moving pale hands down to the button of her jeans.

"I suppose I may as well answer your other question while I have your attention."

Emma counters, matching the brunette's refusal to bow down to the heat of the moment and striving for the upper hand. Unbuttoning her Levi's, she pushes them down slowly, maintaining eye contact until the Mayor finally Lowers her gaze to the site revealed helplessly.

Scarlet lips form a cruel smirk.

"Oh my, very festive."

She teases, drinking in sheer green lace with a festive red trim.

"It's coincidence, but a happy one."

The blonde informs her, and Regina nips at her lip as she moves to release some of the strain on her wrists.

"Really? You only ever seem to wear briefs or shorts. Seems out of character?"

"Wow... You really _have_ been paying attention..."

Emma grins, and dark eyes flash fire, before the Mayor retorts boldly

"Could I not say the same for you? I've seen the way you sometimes look at me..."

"Yeah?"

The blonde asks, kicking herself free of rough denim before pulling her sweater up over her head and shaking out her curls. She strips off the grey swatch of her top beneath, leaving her in just her underwear. Her bra is black and doesn't match, but this in no way makes the end result any less appealing.

"Yet you never called me out on it."

She growls, honing in on her captive, and Regina frowns- hissing as pale fingers trail her ribs, and bites back breathlessly

"What _good_ would it have done? This is madness!"

A small twitch to the younger woman's mouth, and the Mayor recalls what Emma had mentioned earlier about missing the old days before things had become convuluted and so many extras had come into their midst. Her eyes widen with understanding as the younger woman's narrow, before she pushes aside things that can't be changed and lashes out to nip at prettily parted lips.

"I must say, I prefer the minimal lace to the shorts... If only they were part of a set and not such a curious clash of color..."

"Yeah, can you do better?"

The blonde hisses, running her hands down soft skin to find the zip hidden in plush wool to see for herself. Letting heavy fabric pool around the darker woman's sharp heels, she raises a brow in appreciation before slipping sly fingers into expensive silk to discover the Mayor's wetness.

"Ok, seems you can."

She smirks against full lips as she teases gently at first.

"You sound surprised?"

Regina retorts with mock agitation broken by small gasps.

"Hmm... I suppose I would be lying if I told you I was. I always knew it would be a spectacular sight."

"Ung... That _almost_ sounds like you've given it some thought..."

"Could I not say the same for you?"

Emma teases huskily, mirroring the brunette's own words as the latter begins to tug helplessly at her bonds as she shivers in her pleasure; slim fingers dipping deeper as the Sheriff nips lightly at her throat.

"... You could."

Regina eventually admits with her eyes clenched shut. She refuses to beg for the blonde to speed up her ministrations, and so simply pants on the brink of release until Emma decides to do so for herself.

"Ah!"

It's a harsh cry as the brunette's knees buckle in ecstasy and her stomach muscles contract tellingly, and it is a mixture of both pain and intense pleasure. Laughing softly, the younger woman moves her thigh inbetween the Mayor's own to keep her somewhat upright and kisses her hungrily.

" _That_ , Regina... Is more or less what I like..."

She murmurs as she reaches behind the brunette to release her from her restraints.

"Thank you for clarifying."

Regina pants as she massages her wrists, before turning on the younger woman without warning and slamming her into the wall.

"Ah! The radiator! Watch it!"

The blonde snaps as she's fairly sure she's going to be left with impressive bruises lashing the backs of her thighs.

"Deal with it. You're not the _only_ one who's thought about how they might like to do this."

The Mayor reprimands, yanking down flimsy lace to catch around splayed knees as she enters the Sheriff forcefully and bites experimentally at her shoulder.

She doesnt tease and play as the blonde had done because she's still shuddering with aftershock of her own pleasure, but she's not about to let Emma think she's won this one and have anything to hold over her in the future, and so she fucks her roughly, relishing the low string of explatives hissed into her hair as cruel nails scratch and claw at her back.

"You have good taste."

She murmurs into messy curls, meaning both the way that the younger woman has come through to show a delectable side of her personality tonight, and the fact that she's chosen to play such games with herself. Ordinarily, she would scold and punish a partner for clawing at her the way Emma does, but the need and tension rife in every twitch and shudder of the Sheriff's lithe form enables her to forgive this annoyance as venomous hissing becomes a choked groan, and she swallows a sweet cry as the blonde goes over.

"Fuck."

Emma pants eventually, sliding clumsily down the wall- yelping as her shoulder blades catch the cruel side of the radiator- so that she sits with her legs splayed out in front of her, looking up a little dazedly at the Mayor.

"Well, I guess _that_ happened."

She continues awkwardly, before allowing a small smirk that eventually becomes a rueful chuckle. After a moment's glaring, Regina joins in; pushing her hair out of her face- slightly damp at the temples- and extending a hand to pull the Sheriff back onto her feet.

"It did."

She agrees, watching as Emma pulls up the scrap of her underwear which serves to hide very little. The blonde seems to realise this also, and walks over to her jeans and begins pulling them back on as the Mayor retrieves her own clothes.

"That wasn't what I'd had in mind when I came over here, you know..."

Regina informs, with such prim defiance, that it at first garners a glower, before the younger woman laughs and points out sheepishly

"I know... Those lights really _were_ broken, too. I didn't set you up."

"Like you'd have the _nerve_."

Regina sniffs, but she flashes a small smile, and Emma shakes her head as she falls onto the couch and retorts softly

"You have no _idea_ what I'm capable of."

"... I have a _better_ idea."

The brunette replies, massaging her wrists, and she takes a seat beside the Sheriff after flashing her a cautionary glance.

"I guess so."

Emma agrees, before raising a brow as she spies the time on the clock by the window and grinning in surprise

"Oh, hey! Merry Christmas!"

"So it is."

Regina agrees, offering her own small smile.

"I suppose we never got a good start on that rum... Stay around a little while?"

"I can do."

The brunette agrees hesitantly, before frowning as she cocks her head and studies the discarded strand of christmas lights. Getting up, she stalks over and picks them up before plugging them back in.

"What are you-"

Emma starts, but the Mayor ignores her and gives one of the middle bulbs a couple of small twists, sending the strand in her hands flickering to light.

"-Oh!"

"Yes..."

She responds with a smirk, and the blonde rolls her eyes and huffs that she wasn't to know it would be so simple.

"So... Not a ploy on your part?"

"Nope. But I'd say things all worked out."

"Hmmm..."

Regina smirks, and the Sheriff sticks her tongue out before sighing sleepily

"Just pour us some rum, Regina. It's Christmas."


End file.
